


roses are red, violets are blue

by 127ghouls



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Hallucinations, Horror, M/M, Paranoia, Schizophrenia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 08:50:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16472420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/127ghouls/pseuds/127ghouls
Summary: Their house is suddenly plagued with unexplainable nightmare when Jaehyun falls sick, right before Taeyong could question his husband's affair.





	roses are red, violets are blue

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween from JAEYONG and I ~~

"You want to see me? Clingy, aren't you,"  
"It's fine, I'll make time. I'll see what I can do."  
"Can't wait, I love you..."  
  
Taeyong chops through the onions, the blade hitting the wooden board violently, leaving faint dents on its surface. It's quite an old chopping board, something they've gotten two years ago when they got married. Most of the kitchenwares were gifted by family and friends because the couple don't trust each other when it comes to cooking equipments. They're dangerous, especially the knives.  
  
He sees his reflection on the silver blade of the knife, face blank and unreadable. Taeyong wipes off the chunks of onion that got stuck on the blade and puts all of them in the sizzling pan. It hisses, spreading aroma all over the kitchen.  
  
An arm wraps around his waist and a kiss is planted on his cheek. Taeyong smiles at Jaehyun before adjusting the heat of the stove and starts to sauté. "It smells good," Jaehyun hums, lips gently pressed on the side of his husband's head. "You're making me hungry..."  
  
"Who were you talking to on the phone?" Taeyong continues to mix the spices, adding more seasoning while at it. He wants to make sure everything's perfect, a nice mixture of sweet and spicy when it melts in Jaehyun's tongue. He loves serving his husband. "It sounds....important."  
  
The arm around him disappears and Taeyong bites his tongue, eyes never leaving the food. "It's work. They can't give me a break even on holiday. I told them we're visiting your parents' grave tomorrow, but they insisted we check some data." Jaehyun explains before doubling over in a series of bad coughs. Taeyong checks on his cooking before approaching Jaehyun, calmly, running a soothing hand over his back.  
  
"Honey, I told you to stop lying..."  
  
"I know what you're doing, honey." Taeyong smiles but it doesn't reach his eyes. How can he, when his heart rips into shreds at the same time? It's so hard loving someone who doesn't feel the same any longer.  
  
  


  
  
The blanket reaches Jaehyun's shoulders, protecting him from the chilling bites of the cool wind belching from the air conditioner. Taeyong closes the window blinds and presses a kiss on Jaehyun's forehead.  
  
"Take a rest, honey. You've been keeping your stress from me. It's because you're working so hard." A sigh escapes his lips as he pats the covers gently over Jaehyun's chest. The sight of his husband sleeping makes his heart swell. Jaehyun looks like a baby when he sleeps, nose scrunching every now and then. "I'll go out first, I'll be back soon."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Slow, nostalgic melody resonates in the ambiance of the coffee shop he's sitting in. Taeyong takes a careful sip of his beverage, afraid to burn his tongue. In front of him, Ten stares at him with an apologetic gaze. He understands the sympathy. Ten is in a happy marriage with Johnny.  
  
"You should talk to him, Yong. Communication is the key, don't let all your hopes and dreams crumble because of an affair,"  
  
Taeyong stirs his coffee, his reflection staring back at him on the shining cup. It's amazing, he wonders. It must be so clean, free of any stain. What kind of chemical are they using to keep people from seeing prints?  
  
"I want to know what I lack of. Maybe...maybe Jaehyun just wants a taste of something new." He says, but more to himself than Ten.  
  
"Men are polygamous in nature, not that it applies to everyone. It happens. People find thrill doing things they shouldn't. You know, that feeling of igniting fireworks bubbling in your chest when we used to burn Mrs. Jang's flowers? Then when she comes out, we run away like scrambling rats, laughing." Ten smiles at the memory. "It's forbidden, but we did it because it was exciting. Doesn't excuse us, though. You should talk to him. I don't want to see you like this, like you're mourning a loss you haven't lost yet."  
  
Taeyong stares at Ten, a small smile slowly creeping on his lips. "You're right. We can fix this. Can we talk about your anniversary plans with Johnny?"  
  
  
  


  
  
"I'm home,"  
  
It's quiet. Jaehyun must still be in bed. Taeyong chucks his shoes to the side and raids the fridge for ice, crushing blocks and pours them in a small tub before bringing it upstairs. It's so cold inside, freezing as though it's below zero degrees. His teeth chatter while pressing a damp towel on Jaehyun's forehead, ice sandwiched in the cloth.  
  
"You're so sick, honey." Taeyong worries his lip. Jaehyun has never gotten this ill before. His husband looks pale, lips chapped and almost blue. Maybe he should send him to the hospital.  
  
"No. No, I can take care of you." He gets up and presses a few buttons on the air condition system, dropping the temperature. He should've worn something thicker than a cotton shirt. Taeyong briefly glances at Jaehyun before leaving the room, hugging himself.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Small houses line up on the floor, covering his carpet. Taeyong scrutinizes the small figures of people inside the dioramas, checking for any defects or missing parts. He has to meet a deadline his client had given, and he'll get the second half of the pay.  
  
He bends over, poking his head inside a model of a church when a loud thud coming from upstairs startles him and he accidentally knocks off the diorama, breaking it. Taeyong curses under his breath, furious. It had taken him three days to build it, no sleep and dinners skipped. Looking at the ruins, he decides that he can rebuild it later after he checks up on what caused the sound. It must be that stray cat sneaking inside their room once again.  
  
Taeyong climbs upstairs and before he could turn the knob, he remembers that all windows are shut. The cat can't come inside.  
  
He twists it open and slowly slips inside the room. It's pitch black, and the only sound he can hear is the whirring of the air condition system. Taeyong stares into nothingness, complete darkness for a minute or two - he can't figure out how long he's standing idly, heart beating irregularly before his hand shoots up to turn the light on.  
  
Windows shut. No cat. But Jaehyun's on the floor, lying on his side, still unconscious. The tub rolled under the bed, he must have knocked it off when he fell. Taeyong hurries to Jaehyun and grunts as he lifts his husband back into bed. Taeyong pulls the covers again, until they reach Jaehyun's shoulders. The mattress is soaked, as well as the pillows. Taeyong picks up the tub and kisses Jaehyun's forehead through trembling lips and escapes the cold confinement of their room.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
It's been days since Jaehyun fell sick. Taeyong is starting to worry. Jaehyun isn't eating the meals he leaves in their room, isn't taking the medicines. He doesn't know what to do. Jaehyun hadn't fallen ill like this before. He thinks of calling Ten to ask for advice but he ignores it. He can take care of Jaehyun.  
  
He's so busy taking care of his husband that he forgot about visiting his parents' grave, only remembering it a week later. Fixing the diorama and chasing the deadline got him occupied, and the pipe under their sink starts leaking, and there's an abnormal stench lingering heavily in the household. The stress takes its toll on him and Taeyong gradually neglects himself, forgoing shower and hygiene. He's a complete mess. The company where Jaehyun works at also starts bombarding him with calls, asking where their boss is. Taeyong shuts them out. He's losing sleep over random scratches on the ceiling, against the walls. Maybe he should finally buy that rat poison. The pests are starting to inhabitate the cupboards, and their loud scratches are pissing him off.  
  
The last diorama, a movie house is almost complete. Taeyong huffs, checking for defects before pushing himself up to run to the bathroom to take a piss. His bladder's full of liquid and it hurts, feeling like it's about to burst.

He just flushed the toilet when he stills, hand hanging midway of reaching for the door. It's so cold, freezing. The air behind him seeps through his shirt and touches his skin, prickling him like a hundred daggers. Taeyong remembers the exhaust fan. It's on. Relief washes over him.  
  
"Fuck, I'm going crazy, aren't I? All these deadlines, and Jaehyun..."  
  
Taeyong turns around and he really shouldn't have done it, but sometimes he makes mistakes, small and _big_ mistakes. His eyes widen at the sight of the shower curtain all bloodied and torn. Something moves from below and his eyes follow, watching a pair of hands, covered in black and blue, fingers broken and missing crawl over the edge of the bath tub.  
  
His back hits the door, legs suddenly jelly before he slides down. Horror envelopes his whole body, keeping him from moving. Paralysis takes over him like a blanket, chaining him on his spot. Taeyong tries to open his mouth but his jaws don't move, his tongue idle. The hands continue to slide over the tub, and he starts to whimper pathetically as a figure, distorted and dark with long, wet strands of hair sticking on the gooey skin. It's a woman, crawling out of the tub and seemingly aiming for him. Taeyong's eyes water - he can't close them, there's something forcing him to watch the scene unfolding in front of him.  
  
The figure drags itself across the floor, limbs leaving a bloody mess on the tiles. As it reaches for his foot, Taeyong sees a face behind the mess of hair - empty sockets of what used to be a pair of eyes are looking at him, blood flowing out of them before its mouth opens and lets out a maniacal howl.  
  
Taeyong screams. His eyes finally shut tight and his hands cover his ears, blocking the horrific sound.  
  
The scream lasts for what seems like an eternity, until it all stops. His heart is hammering against his ribcage, threatening to burst out of his chest. When his eyes open again, there's nothing in front of him, no blood and torn shower curtain, no woman. The bathroom looks like how it's suppose to be.  
  
He doesn't waste more time and runs.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Nighttime falls. Taeyong settles on the couch in the living room, ready to sleep. He can't stay in their room upstairs. It's so cold. Plus, the stench had gone up and is stuck in there. He hopes Jaehyun is fine with it.  
  
The event this morning dissipates from his memory. Taeyong blamed it on stress and the ache in his heart. He's yet to talk to Jaehyun about the affair. Who might the woman be? Is it a co-worker? A friend of a friend? Jaehyun loves her...so they must have been seeing each other for quite some time.  
  
Taeyong sighs, trying to sleep. He shifts his weight and lies on his back, desperately looking for a comfortable position. A few minutes later, he starts to feel lightheaded.  
  
A creaking comes from above him. Taeyong dismisses the sound, thinking it's the rat he's yet to kill.  
  
The creaking continues a few seconds latter. This time, Taeyong hears a faint breathing, but it isn't his. It's coming from on top on him.  
  
His breathing labors, heart drumming. Taeyong doesn't want to open his eyes. He knows there's something, and he doesn't want to see it. He tells himself, mentally, that if he keeps his eyes close, whatever's lurking in the dark will disappear. It feeds on fear. Taeyong isn't scared.  
  
The creaking continues, growing louder each time. The breathing is now more distinct, Taeyong knows it's coming closer. He can almost feel the breath hit his cheek, and there's a foul smell emitting from it.  
  
"Roses are red, violets are blue  
I'm here, Taeyong. I'm coming for you..."  
  
It's singing, phantasmic laughter teasing him like a child playing hide 'n seek. Taeyong's throat tightens and he loses his voice again, limbs paralyzed.  
  
"Wake up... I'll be gone when you wake up..."  
  
Taeyong wants to cry. He wants it gone. _Please, leave me alone_.  
  
He opens his eyes, expecting the entity to keep its words. He should've learned his lesson.  
  
The woman floats on air, her hair falling over. She's smiling with the same torn mouth, jaw almost falling off its hinges and a spit drips on Taeyong's lips. It's red. Blood.  
  
"Boo."

This time, he cannot scream anymore. Taeyong trembles violently. The woman's body descends ever so slowly, creeping. Taeyong watches her, and when she's almost pressed against him, her jaw suddenly detaches from the head and falls, rolling on the floor while a vomit of blood flows out of her throat, filling Taeyong's mouth and nose, drowning him.  
  
He chokes, gripping the edge of the couch until he's able to move again, jerking up in a sitting position. Taeyong continues to cough, trying to throw up the blood he was forced to drink up, only realizing later on that there's nothing around him. The woman is gone, and he's clean.  
  
Taeyong clutches his head, roughly pulling at the strands of jet black hair in frustration. Tears cloud his vision in the middle of the night while he scans the living room again before glancing upstairs as though waiting for something to make itself known.  
  
"Stop it... Leave me alone..."  
  
  


  
  
  
The bell rings twice before it opens. Ten immediately covers his nose when the strong, foul stench of something akin to a pile of dead rats hits his nose. Taeyong closes the door behind him and smiles at his best friend. "Can we go now?"  
  
"What the fuck was that? Smells like rotten corpse,"  
  
Taeyong starts walking ahead of Ten, glancing at the other with a knowing smile. "How do you know what a carcass smells like?"  
  
"Movies?" Taeyong hums and lets Ten walk beside him. They're silent for a while, enjoying the calmness between them. Ten invited him out to a nearby bazzare, and he really wants to get away from the recurrent nightmares plaguing his mind.  
  
"Right." It's a nice walk out, the bazzare a kilometer away from his house. Johnny and Ten live a few streets away. "So how do you get rid of foul smell?"  
  
Ten's nose scrunches. "What was that back there?"  
  
"Rats."  
  
"You should've called for pest termination service, whatever you call that. Anyway, I don't know? Bleach, maybe? It works perfectly in the movies, you know. When they try to remove evidences of murder. It's not like rat infestation, but maybe. Try some bleach."  
  
"Okay. Because ice doesn't work..."  
  
Ten whips his head, frowning. "Ice? What are you trying to do, preserve the rats, freeze them up?" He shakes his head, finding Taeyong even more ridiculous as days gone by.  
  
"Maybe," Taeyong says teasingly, which earns him a slap from Ten. "Anyway, I haven't talked to Jaehyun yet. I tried, but he's just too sick to talk."  
  
"He'll get better, Yong. And when he does, please fix the both of you. I don't want my friends breaking up,"   
  
  
  
  
  
  
Taeyong kneels on the floor at the kitchen, furiously scrubbing. He's not certain as to how clean it should be to leave nothing on it, but he scrubs and scrubs until his arms are sore. After mopping the floor, he picks up the bottle of bleach and disposes it in the bin together with the rug he used.  
  
Something glints under the light, catching his attention. Taeyong pulls it out and inspects the kitchen knife still covered in blood. Ah, good times. It was unexpected, but it had to happen. Who wants to be left alone for someone else, anyway? He had to be quicker than Jaehyun, didn't he?  
  
  


  
  
"I know what you're doing, honey." Taeyong smiles but it doesn't reach his eyes. How can he, when his heart rips into shreds at the same time? It's so hard loving someone who doesn't feel the same any longer.  
  
Jaehyun straightens up and rubs his throat. It itches. "Babe, you're being weird right now," Just then, he notices the knife held tight in Taeyong's hand. Jaehyun stops, brow raised. "Baby, that's dangerous. Please put it down, and the foo--"  
  
"Shut up! Shut up! You're cheating on me, aren't you? I heard you! That wasn't about work, it's your fucking whore!"

Jaehyun doesn't get a chance to react as Taeyong launches forward, impaling the blade on his stomach over and over until he's down on the ground, trying to block his husband. But he's powerless, body giving up as he loses a lot of blood. Jaehyun coughs out red, dark and thick and it covers half of his face. Taeyong loses count of how many stabs he's given, until there are no more resistance coming from the man under him. He gives one last stab, watching the light in Jaehyun's eyes turn dull.  
  
"Sorry, honey. I can't let you go..."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
There's another thud coming from their room. Taeyong threads upstairs, gripping the knife just in case. Stopping in front of the door, his heart beats erratically. He carefully gets in, locking the door behind him almost inaudibly.  
  
The light flickers and for a second he's blinded, before his sight adjusts and takes in the empty bed where Jaehyun's decomposing body is supposed to be.  
  
Taeyong gasps in terror, approaching the bed. He checks under but nothing lies in there. The windows are shut, the bathroom's empty. Jaehyun's body is gone. He's about to go crazy.  
  
Laughter bubbles up in his chest. "Jaehyun, I'm not playing. Come out now!" He turns around, eyes shaky. Nothing happens. He looks at the damp bed and whimpers, sobs ripping past his lips. "Stop messing with me!"  
  
  
"Roses are red,  
Violets are blue  
His neck is red's hue  
Yours will be too  
  
Roses are red,  
Violets are blue,  
The sounds that you hear,  
whispers that you fear  
They're all crystal clear  
Because you killed your dear"  
  
It rings in his ears, the same voice he's been hearing. Taeyong screams, shouting at nothing. He swings his arm, slashing through the air in hopes of harming whatever's inside the room with him. It's futile, the voice draws closer, louder, deafening. It's right next to him, chanting the same mantra. The voice is deep, like it's coming from the underground and it's a mixture of distorted noises, cries and pleas of agony.  
  
Taeyong stops when he faces the mirror yet instead of seeing himself, Jaehyun stands there. His face is nothing like before - the skin is peeling, lips torn and maggots wriggle all over the holes of his face. The insects crawl out of his eyes, ears, everwhere.  
  
"Roses are red,  
Violets are blue,  
No matter where you hide  
I'll be right behind you..."  
  
"No!"  
  
Taeyong charges, stabbing the corpse over and over through his own cries and tears bluring his vision. He only stops when the voices disappear, looking up at Jaehyun, only to see his own reflection on the mirror, his hand gripping the heel of the knife buried on his own torso.  
  
Blood stains his shirt, the once white fabric now crimson red. He staggers, limping until the back of his legs hit the edge of the bed and he falls over. More blood drips from his mouth as he looks up and sees Jaehyun's corpse. Yet he smiles, reaching up to touch his dead husband's face. The maggots spread, disturbed.  
  
"Honey, I told you I won't let you go..."

And for the first time, he is at peace. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I suck at horror ㅠㅠ
> 
> just a reminder: taeyong has paranoid schizophrenia so what he heard from jaehyun may or may not be true : ) it's up to you what you want to believe~


End file.
